President Trump lashes out at Apple for refusing to help the FBI unlock a shooter's iPhones: 'They will have to step up to the plate and help our great Country, NOW!'

• President Trump lashed out at Apple in a tweet Tuesday for refusing to help the FBI unlock two iPhones used by a gunman in a deadly shooting last month.
• The FBI and Apple are still at odds over the issue, which the company has framed as a matter of preserving users' privacy.
• Trump also said that his administration was "helping Apple all of the time," an apparent reference to the iPhone maker's negotiations with the White House over exemptions from planned tariffs on goods imported from China.
• Apple CEO Tim Cook has forged close ties with Trump in an effort to keep him from imposing such tariffs, which would hurt Apple because its products are mostly manufactured in China.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Trump lashed out at Apple in a tweet Tuesday for its refusal to help the FBI unlock two iPhones used by a gunman in a deadly shooting at a Naval base in Pensacola, Florida, last month.

"We are helping Apple all of the time on TRADE and so many other issues, and yet they refuse to unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements. They will have to step up to the plate and help our great Country, NOW! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN," Trump tweeted.

Apple has framed the issue around protecting consumers' privacy, saying that "encryption is vital to protecting our country and our users' data."

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Trump's mention of "helping Apple all of the time" is an apparent reference to the iPhone maker's negotiations with the White House over exemptions from planned tariffs on goods imported from China.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has worked to develop a close relationship with Trump and his administration in an effort to convince him not to impose those tariffs, which would hurt Apple becaause its products are mainly manufactured in China.

Last month, Apple narrowly avoided a 15% tariff when Trump agreed to postpone tariffs, which could have lowered demand for iPhones by 6% to 8%, experts predicted.

We are helping Apple all of the time on TRADE and so many other issues, and yet they refuse to unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements. They will have to step up to the plate and help our great Country, NOW! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.

- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2020